The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality is pleased to announce the winners of our 2012-13 Poverty, Inequality, & Mobility Among Hispanics Grant Competition:

JAMES D. BACHMEIER, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, POPULATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

The Unhealthy Assimilation of the Foreign-Born Hispanic Population in the United States: The Role of Legal and Citizenship Status

This research will use the 1996-2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine whether, and to what extent, the health assimilation trajectories of Latino immigrants vary depending on their legal and citizenship status. The first analysis will compare the health assimilation trajectories of three types of immigrant respondents within the SIPP: naturalized citizens, legal non-citizens, and unauthorized residents. In the second analysis, the SIPP data will be pooled with data from the 1996-2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and multiple imputation will be used to assign legal status to non-naturalized immigrant respondents in the NHIS. This will allow us to examine whether legal or citizenship-specific health incorporation trajectories vary across states.

DAVID A. CORT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST

Neighborhood Quality and Spatial Assimilation: Retesting Classical and Segmented Assimilation Models

A dramatic surge of poor Latino immigrants to the U.S. has raised concerns among policy experts about their socioeconomic prospects and those of their offspring, the 2nd and 3rd generations. While the socioeconomic incorporation of Latinos across generations has consumed the attention of analysts, surprisingly little attention has been paid to their ability to move from poor neighborhoods. What little literature exists compares Latinos across generations without examining how the vulnerable 2nd and 3rd generations fare relative to equally vulnerable native-born blacks, which is key to testing segmented assimilation theory. To fill this void, I use newly available longitudinal data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LA-FANS) to examine group differences in the poverty rate of neighborhoods in which residents end up.

ANJUM HAJAT, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Understanding the Relationship Between Debt and Health Among Hispanics

Health disparities among the poor and minority populations in the U.S. have persisted for decades. Does chronic stress account for some portion of such disparities? In this pilot study, I will explore the association of health with a chronic stressor, debt, that is relevant to many low and middle income Hispanic families. Specifically, I will examine the association between health outcomes and three debt-related measures: credit card debt, use of alternative financial services (AFS), and not having a bank account (i.e. being "unbanked").

DANIEL LÓPEZ-CEVALLOS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ETHNIC STUDIES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
PATRICIA GONZALEZ, RESEARCH SCIENTIST, INSTITUTE FOR BEHAVIORAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
JEFFREY BETHEL, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
SHEILA FAYE CASTAÑEDA, RESEARCH SCIENTIST, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

Assessing the Influence of Social Status, Wealth, and Mobility on Health Outcomes Among Hispanic/Latinos

The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health among Hispanics has not been studied with a sufficiently wide range of SES and health measures. The purpose of the present study is to carry out such a comprehensive assessment with the landmark Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS) for the major Hispanic backgrounds (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American).

FRANCISCO PEDRAZA, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON SCHOLAR IN HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
LING ZHU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Political Exclusion, Immigration Enforcement, and the "Chilling Effect" on Latino Social Service Use

This project will examine whether immigration enforcement had a "chilling effect" on social service use among Latinos during the Great Recession. We will estimate a series of multi-level models to assess whether immigration policy enforcement induced Latinos to forego safety net programs.

MARIA G. RENDÓN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PLANNING, POLICY, AND DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE

The Mobility Prospects of Latino Men: Before and After the Great Recession

This study investigates how second-generation Latino men and their immigrant parents have experienced and responded to the Great Recession via projects of upward and downward mobility. It builds on a five-year qualitative study of Latino young men from two high-poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles. These young men and their parents were first interviewed in 2007, prior to the Great Recession, and then a subsample were reinterviewed in the summer of 2012. The interviews explore how mobility was pursued and understood.

DAWN M. RICHARDSON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Pathways to Mobility

Mexican Americans face a number of challenges in the pursuit of social mobility. We will conduct a mapping project with Mexican American youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon with the aim of learning from youth about the barriers and facilitators of mobility in their neighborhoods.

FERNANDO RIOSMENA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POPULATION, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-BOULDER

The Hispanic Health Paradox and Immigrant Health Adaptation Processes

Prior research has found that Hispanics living in areas with higher coethnic concentration tend to have better health than those living in less concentrated areas. This project will build on this finding by deploying different measures of coethnic residential concentration and by examining differences among natives and immigrants. We draw on nationally-representative restricted-access data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

VAN C. TRAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Second Generation Decline or Advantage? New Evidence on the Assimilation of Latinos in the U.S.

In 2010, the Latino population reached 50.5 million or 16.3 percent of the U.S. population. Drawing on recent data from the Current Population Survey, this project seeks to answer three questions about the assimilation of Latinos in the U.S. How are Latinos and their descendants incorporated into American society? Do we observe a second-generation decline or advantage? How does the process of assimilation differ across Latino ethnic groups and immigrant destinations?